An Interpretation of the Sabbath-School Lessons
THE general purpose of the present series of Sabbath-school lessons is to show that the vital principle of the gospel is righteousness by faith, and that this phase of truth has been emphasized in every great movement in the historical development of the gospel. In the light of this fact, it will be evident that this great second advent movement is not isolated from past movements in defense of gospel truth, but on the contrary is closely allied with them. In the first lesson of this series, the fundamental truth of the gospel was shown to be righteousness by faith. In the very definition of the gospel as “the power of God unto salvation,” it is made clear that this vital principle is the righteousness of God, and that this righteousness is bestowed upon every one who believes. The gospel is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. . . . For therein is revealed a righteousness of God.” Through the provisions of the gospel the gift of righteousness is offered to every one, and is received by believing. To proclaim this is to proclaim the gospel. As men have lost sight of this truth, and have thus apostatized from God, there have been at different times great reformatory movements for the purpose of restoring it to the people. Only ten generations from the time of the creation, evil had so increased that “Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6: 5); but a message of salvation was sent through Noah, “a preacher of righteousness,” who sought to lead men to the acceptance of the proffered gift of righteousness in view of the overwhelming disaster which was to be visited upon all the earth. The only way of salvation from the impending destruction was to be found in that faith in God which would be revealed in obedience. But the gospel truth as then taught was diametrically opposed to the theories of the science of that day as well as to the conclusions of a human philosophy. That the earth should be overwhelmed by a flood of water was just as incredible in those days as that it will be consumed by fire in these days; but the faith which takes God at his word, regardless of appearances, was manifested in building the ark, through which Noah “condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” The call of Abraham was another step in the development of the gospel truth of righteousness by faith. Abraham “believed in Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness;” “to Abraham his faith was reckoned for righteousness;” “they that are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham;” and “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law: . . . that upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Abraham’s implicit obedience to the commands of God, growing out of an unwavering faith that what God had promised he was able also to perform, was shown in forsaking all earthly possessions and all earthly connections for that which rested solely upon the promise of God. This was the obedience of that faith which was reckoned unto him for righteousness. There is the very closest connection between the promise to Abraham and the faith of Abraham and the experience of our own time. The time of the promise now draws near, and the faith which is reckoned for righteousness is that which will insure the promised inheritance, the new earth. The present gospel invitation to forsake all for Christ, and to yield obedience to all the commandments of God through that faith which lays hold upon the righteousness of Christ, is the call of Abraham renewed to this generation, in view of the fact4that “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.” The deliverance from Egypt is a great object-lesson of the experience of salvation from sin through faith in the saving power of God,—the power of righteousness. In the historical record there is no mention of faith, but in the interpretation of this experience, as given in the Epistle to the Hebrews, we learn that it was all of faith. In the rigorous bondage of the children of Israel was set forth the bondage of sin. In the failure of Moses to accomplish their deliverance by smiting the Egyptian, was taught the lesson that human power is not able to deliver man from the power of sin. In the miracles wrought by the hand of Moses and Aaron, the fact was set forth that salvation is only by the mighty power of God. In the faith manifested by Moses and his people, the great truth of salvation by faith was made known, and thus the gospel of righteousness by faith, of deliverance only through the power of God, was taught; and the same vital truth is the very essence of the threefold gospel message which is to be proclaimed in this generation as the only sufficient means of deliverance from the bondage of sin. The call out of ancient Babylon was typical of the final call out of modern Babylon. The whole history of ancient Babylon, from its foundation to its final overthrow, is an unbroken record of self-exaltation, of that pride in one’s own resources which leads to the refusal of all help from without, and trusts to the power within, and to the substitution of righteousness by works for righteousness by faith. In modern Babylon the same principles are exemplified, and the final call is, “Come forth, my people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues: for her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” The third angel’s message announces the fall of Babylon, and proclaims the gospel of righteousness by faith as the only way of salvation from her ruin. As in the olden time, the people were called upon to forsake the outward glory of Babylon, her luxury and her religion, so gratifying to that pride which rejoices in its own attainments, to unite in a movement which outwardly promised little but self-denial and hardship, but which under the blessing of God meant the restoration of the true service of God in the hearts of the people, so the same experience is to be repeated to-day. Not only from the world, with all its allurements, but also from an apostate church, which has become so conformed to the world that under the cloak of religion it permits the gratification of worldly desires and ambitions, this threefold message calls upon a people to separate themselves, and to give themselves wholly to the true worship and service of God. So closely is the experience of the restoration from ancient Babylon and the rebuilding of Jerusalem connected with the gospel experience in this last generation when Babylon is soon to fall to rise no more. At the time of the first advent of Christ the people had lapsed from the essential truths of the gospel, and were trusting in the merits of their own works, and in those outward ceremonies which were intended to be the expression of an inward faith. The temple and its services had been prostituted into an excuse for sin, and a genuine heart service was the experience of only the few. Again it was necessary to present to the people the true principles of the gospel of righteousness by faith, and this was the work of John the Baptist. In this time, just before the second advent of Christ, the same experience is repeated, and the same message of preparation must again be given. The work of John the Baptist was a direct type of the work to be accomplished in this generation, and this threefold message is an application to the special circumstances of this day of the very same gospel truth which was the burden of the message of John the Baptist, “All flesh is grass. . . . Behold your God.” Such a message, proclaimed “in demonstration of the spirit and of power,” will lead men to have no confidence in the flesh, and to trust for salvation only in the righteousness of him who is both Son of man and Son of God, our great High Priest. In the Reformation of the sixteenth century the great truth of righteousness by faith, as opposed to righteousness by works, was again restored to the people. The full light of the gospel was not permitted to shine at that time, and not all errors were discarded; but principles were enunciated which, when followed to their logical conclusion, would lead into the very truths which constitute the heart and soul of this threefold message. Luther and his associates were the forerunners of those who are to proclaim with a loud cry the truths of the gospel in all their fulness as the final work in preparation for the coming of the Lord. Their work emphasized the one great vital principle. This message applies that principle to all phases of the gospel, revealing all the perversions of past centuries and restoring original truths. The Reformation of the sixteenth century is repeated in the great second advent movement, with added light and power, and the work is thus accomplished which will bring the great controversy to its final crisis. From this brief outline of the great reformatory movements in the development of the gospel, it is clear that the one vital principle, reiterated under varying circumstances and applied to the peculiar needs of each time, is the great truth that deliverance from sin is wrought through faith in God, and that the righteousness of God is imparted as a free gift to those who believe. In this closing work of the gospel, all the lessons of the past are gathered up and applied; all the light of the past is focused; and the great truth of righteousness by faith is to be taught with a clearness and with a power hitherto unparalleled. Only such a presentation of the gospel can prepare the way for the second advent of Christ, and leave the unsaved world without excuse. The study of the present series of Sabbath-school lessons ought to make this clear to all.